For the Rest of Our Lives
by benvoliotheorphan
Summary: A collection of fics written for gochiweek on Tumblr. Day 6 - Stress. Goten looked so much like Goku had that week leading up to the Cell Games, to his...well, to his death.
1. Stardust

GoChi Week, Day 1 - Fairytales

A/N: Based on the movie Stardust. Kind of. Idk. Also posted on ao3 and tumblr, my username for both is the same as it is here.

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Stardust

Chi-Chi's mission was simple. Go and find the fallen star, bring it back to her kingdom, and deliver it to Gero. In return, he would release her father and remove his army from her kingdom. Simple and straight to the point.

Unfortunately, simple was not synonymous with easy. For one, she had only a month to complete the task, which was problematic since it took her half that time to reach where the star had crashed. Another issue was the fact that Chi-Chi highly doubted Gero would keep his word, as few kingdoms have ever survived once his army's invaded. If it weren't for the fact that she had barely survived her fight with his top assassins, twins who referred to themselves as numbers, of all things, she would've outright refused to do anything for him. As it was, she had little choice. At least by going out and fetching the star she gave her kingdom a chance with some much needed time.

The largest issue with her mission, however, was the star itself. Chi-Chi had been unsure what to expect when she finally reached the crater – a burnt chunk of rock, like any other meteor? Perhaps a large crystal? Or would it still be a ball of light, burning brightly even while on the ground? Whatever it was, it had to be something pretty valuable for Gero to desire it so much.

What she discovered was an empty crater. No diamond, no light, not even a bit of rock. In an instant, her heart sank with her to the ground and she cried over the charred landscape. She failed, though it was through no fault of her own, and any hope she had of saving her father and kingdom was lost.

But then a strange man dropped out from the trees behind her and rudely proclaimed, "Could you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep!"

Chi-Chi's sadness was quickly replaced with anger. How dare he interrupt her during her time of mourning! When she quite loudly reprimanded him for his insensitivity, he at least had the courtesy to look abashed. "Who in their right mind sleeps in the middle of the day, anyway?"

Irritation flashed in his eyes, and if Chi-Chi didn't know better, she could've sworn she saw those dark irises turn green. "Well, I do! My kind sort of thrive in the dark," he explained before his expression melted into that of concern. "Why are you in mourning?"

He seemed so…sincere. It was strange, how he had been so rude one instant and then so caring the next. Seeing no harm in it, she explained her woes. "If I cannot return in two weeks, my father will be killed and my kingdom will burn. I _have_ to bring back the star, I _have_ to save my people."

The man's face instantly steeled, his brow furrowed, his jaw clenched tight, his whole being just exuding determination. "Ok. I'll go with you."

Chi-Chi took a step back, reeling at his words. What on earth was this man thinking? What could he possibly do to help her take back her home and not hinder her? "Why?"

And with his answer, her mission became all the more complicated.

"Because I'm the star!"

Chi-Chi, of course, didn't believe him at first. Her mocking laughter was however cut short when the man began to glow, a golden aura flaring around him. The ground beneath them began to tremble as electricity sparked off his body, which made her take so many steps back she almost fell into the crater. Even his hair started to change, the black melting away to reveal a brilliant gold.

Needless to say, she had little trouble believing his claim after his display.

And so there they were only a few hours later, trekking back towards Fire Mountain. Chi-Chi had yet to speak a word to the man, the star, outside of thanking him right before they began walking back the way she came. She knew that she was now the rude one, almost completely ignoring him outside of the occasional glance to ensure he was still following her. She couldn't help it, though, for she was completely unnerved by him. While she was no stranger to the supernatural (her father was the child of a demon and a human, after all; the supernatural was in her very blood), never before had she encountered anything as powerful as him.

For he was undoubtedly powerful. No one could survive a fall like he had if they were weak. And his transformation earlier had shaken her to her bones, his aura almost overwhelming her. The demon blood within her was practically boiled by his light, something she had rarely ever experienced and certainly not at that magnitude. Was that why Gero wanted him? He had to have known the star's true form. Was he going to make the star do his bidding, or would he drain his power away?

The very thought made her feel ill. This star was sentient; he could very clearly feel the same way she and everyone else could. Passing him off just to have his freedom stripped away… It may have been her kingdom's only hope, but still the guilt gnawed at her.

"Uhm, Miss?" Chi-Chi stopped and spun around, surprised to hear his voice. When she had made no effort for conversation, he had seemed content to simply follow along in silence. He gave her a somewhat sheepish smile once he had her attention. "I know you're in a hurry to get back home, but do you think we can stop and set up camp for the night?"

She let out a huff of air through her nose, crossed her arms, and began to chew on her bottom lip as she mulled over his request. It wasn't unreasonable, as it was late in the evening and the sun would be setting soon. When she had been traveling on her own she would continue walking well into the night, but the star…

 _My kind sort of thrive in the dark._

He must've been exhausted. And considering the fact that they were going to just hand him over to Gero and his army, it was only fair to comply with his request.

"Ok," she answered with a sigh. "We'll stop for the night."

It didn't take them long to settle down, as all that really needed to be done was build a fire and grab something to eat. Chi-Chi could've easily done both on her own, as she had done for the last two weeks, but the star had insisted on hunting something for the two of them. He walked off and shortly returned with the corpse of a large boar, his whole frame practically glowing (or was he actually glowing? It was so subtle that it was hard for her to tell). She helped him prepare and cook the meat, and once they started eating it was all gone almost instantly.

Chi-Chi only grabbed a small portion of the meat, and it was enough food to tide her over for the night. The star had devoured the rest with such amazing speed and voracity that she almost didn't finish what she had, disgusted as she was by the display. Once he had finished, he sat back with a content sigh and there was no denying the faint glow that surrounded him – he seemed to take on a golden tint, and the air buzzed around him enough that she could almost feel strands of her hair beginning to rise up.

"That was really good, uh," he glanced towards her, his smile faltering slightly. He then shrugged and moved to lie down in front of the fire. "You sure you got enough?"

"I've plenty, thank you," was her response as she continued to eye him, still disturbed by his eating habits. She had almost figured that, since he was something as mighty as a star, he would eat with the grace and elegance of a royal or some other high class. It seemed he was full of surprises. "And….thank you."

"You said that twice."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but the second one isn't for the compliment." He lifted his head to look at her, his head tilted to the side as one eyebrow popped up with curiosity. He almost looked like a puppy, which only served to amaze her more. "I mean, thank you for returning home with me. For helping me."

The star gave her a small, soft smile that seemed to warm her to her very core. "It's no problem, really! You need help, and it'd be pretty bad of me to not lend a hand."

"Still. Thank you."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments while Chi-Chi finished her dinner. Once she had, the star sat up and turned to face her.

"Do you have a name?" he asked so seriously that she almost laughed; because of course she had a name! Everyone does. Her expression must've conveyed her thoughts, for he sighed and shook his head before rephrasing his question. "What should I call you?"

She smiled slightly, although deep down she felt a twinge of shame that she had forgotten her basic manners and never introduced herself. "Chi-Chi. And you?"

The star grinned at her, heat radiating off his form in that golden glow yet again. Her demon blood once more shrieked and begged to get away, but she found that she couldn't take her eyes off him.

"My name's Goku!"


	2. What You Know

GoChi Week, Day 2 – Secrets

A/N: So. Might've stretched canon a bit here bc I don't remember exactly how much Chi-Chi learns about the incident with Raditz. Again, posted on tumblr and ao3, same username for both sites.

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What You Know

"So, when were you going to tell me?"

Goku's head jerked up, startled from his lightly dozing state by his wife's voice. She sat next to the hospital bed, eyes focused on the sweater she was knitting – one that was larger than the one she had just finished. He smiled, silently hoping that the sweater was for him before her question finally registered to his tired mind. Puzzled, he tilted his head to the side and asked, "Tell you what?"

Chi-Chi's hands stilled and she sent him an irritated glance. "That you're an alien."

Goku's breath hitched, his eyes widened, and his heart began to pound so loudly in his chest it almost drowned out all other noise in the room. Chi-Chi did not notice his panic, having already turned her attention back towards her knitting. He would've been grateful for her distraction if it weren't so out of character for her – she was usually so attuned to Gohan and him that she could tell if something was wrong even if they weren't in the same room. He had thought she had moved past ignoring him in her anger, but...

He gulped. "They told you?" He supposed it would've only been fair that is friends did fill her in on that. It just seemed that they had kept contact with Chi-Chi to a minimum during the year he had been dead, so he had figured... Well, he had _hoped_ that that small detail was never brought up.

"Not outright, no," she answered without looking towards him, although he noticed that her hands began to subtly tremble. "But it wasn't hard to figure it out with what Krillin told me. That man claimed to be your brother, and he was an alien, the same species as the ones who put you in here."

A long stretch of silence followed her words, as Goku was unsure what to say. His stomach churned as he struggled to get his mind to cooperate. Although there was no point in hiding it, she already figured it out, so... He nodded, an odd numbness washing over him. "Yeah, I'm an alien. A saiy–" he cringed, not at all willing to finish the statement. This caught Chi-Chi's attention, for she finally stopped knitting and turned to face him fully. He gave her a weak smile. "I'm a saiyan. Like them."

She shook her head, her cold mask finally melting away as she reached over and cupped his cheek. "Not like them. No matter what happens, you're still Goku." His shoulders sagged a bit with relief. "I'm just concerned about why you haven't brought it up yet. This isn't something you can just keep a secret."

Goku turned away, although not enough to loose contact with her hand. "I didn't want to think about it." It was a flimsy excuse, one he knew she wouldn't accept in the long run. But it was true nonetheless; finding out he was an alien had been surprising, yes, but easy enough to accept. He had always felt out of place and even considered the possibility that he might not be human a few times in the past. But to learn the awful customs that surrounded his heritage on top of all the devastation they caused to his friends and his home – for Earth was his home, no matter what anyone else might claim – it all left a sour taste in his mouth.

He could accept that he wasn't human. He couldn't accept that he was a saiyan.

He had expected Chi-Chi to demand more of an explanation, to press and ask why something so crucial was kept from her, his _wife_. But she surprised him by simply leaning forward and pulling him into a gentle hug. "Well, this at least explains your appetite," she began with a small laugh before she pulled away, barely giving him any time to return the hug. "This conversation isn't over, but we'll talk about this more later. After you're healed and out of here."

Goku grinned brightly as the last of the nervous numbness finally faded away. "Thanks, Chi." He watched as she returned to her original position, hands already back to working furiously on the sweater.

"Just... in the future? Try not to keep me in the dark about any other life changing news, ok?"

He nodded, although he doubted Chi-Chi saw as her eyes were glued onto her project. With any luck, there won't be any other life changing news to share.


	3. Another Pretty Piece

GoChi Week, Day 5 - Energetic

A/N: Alright, so idk if this really fits with the theme but…eh. I was gonna have it also tie in with Day 3 (Butterflies/Anticipation) since I had missed that day but… yeah that didn't exactly pan out lol. Also posted onto tumblr and ao3. Oh! And if you're wondering what happened to Day 4, I actually did a video for that day. It's over on YouTube, where my username is the same as it is here, and it's called prize fighter (goku/chi-chi).

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Another Pretty Piece

"Come on, Chi!"

Chi-Chi smiled and shook her head as she was practically dragged out of her house by her husband. Goku beamed at her as he led her towards the nimbus, a noticeable bounce to his step that she hadn't really seen from him before. He was certainly excited to show her the "thing" he had found.

"Alright, alright!" She tried to sound exasperated at his actions as she struggled to match his long strides, but Chi-Chi could not keep the laughter from her voice. His joy was simply too contagious. "What's so special that you're willing to put off lunch for to show me?"

Goku hopped onto the nimbus and helped pull her up next to him. "Gifts are supposed to be a surprise," he teased, using the exact words she had told him mere weeks ago for their first anniversary.

Chi-Chi's heart skipped a beat, her face instantly heating up as her stomach began to do small flips. Gift? There was nothing special about that day, so far as Chi-Chi could remember...

Goku didn't do spontaneous gifts. Not really. If he ever did give her something that could be considered a gift, it was usually small and simple. And he certainly wasn't ever so excited to give it to her. Just what was her husband up to?

So caught up was she in her daze, she hadn't noticed that Goku had given nimbus the command to go until she suddenly almost flew off the cloud. She let out a rather undignified squeak as Goku quickly caught her and brought her around to sit in his lap. He laughed and made a comment, but she couldn't make out his words as they were drowned out by her own heartbeat.

The flight was a rather short one. The nimbus took them over to the other side of Mt. Paozu, about a day's hike if they had gone by foot. They dropped by the river, Goku jumping off before they were even close enough to the ground for Chi-Chi to even consider getting off herself. He then proceeded to bounce on his heels as he waited for her to climb down from the cloud.

"So, what's so special about this river?" she asked as she looked around the area. It was very pretty, there was no denying it; with the green grass and tall trees surrounding them, and the sounds of the river's current combined with the birds chirping relaxing her. But she couldn't see it as being anything for Goku to get so worked up over, especially to consider it a _gift_. It just looked like the rest of Mt. Paozu.

Goku shook his head. "Nothing! This isn't what I wanted to show you." He grabbed her hand and led her through the trees, practically racing ahead. Chi-Chi struggled to keep up, but she bit back on her complaints – she was too curious about what he was doing to risk dampening his good mood.

"Just through here!" He then pushed back a branch and stepped out into a small field. Chi-Chi followed him with only the slightest bit of hesitance and the sight she was met with left her breathless.

The area was covered with pink and yellow flowers. She couldn't recognize the type, no, but that shade of light pink... he couldn't have...

"Goku," she gasped, suddenly finding her voice though it wavered. She hadn't realized her eyes began to water until she turned to the blurry figure of her husband. "Goku, this..."

He smiled at her, although it wasn't anything like the large one he gave her when he dragged her out of their home. It was small and hesitant, with his brow crinkled slightly with worry. "They look like the flowers over by Fire Mountain. Do you remember?"

She was definitely crying. There was no denying the wetness on her cheeks. Chi-Chi giggled in a way that was very reminiscent of how she did all those years ago, and she quickly closed the distance between them by drawing him into a bone-crushing hug. He yelped and stumbled a bit, but returned it by gently wrapping his arms around her.

"Of course I remember!" she answered, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into his chest. "As if I could ever forget that." She pulled back and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, making sure to give him a large grin through her tears. "Thank you for bringing me here." All the worry washed away from his features, and soon Goku was beaming brightly at her once again.


	4. Peace of Mind

GoChi Week, Day 6 – Stress

A/N: This…isn't super shippy, as it deals more with just Chi-Chi and her views of her family as a whole. I'm not sure if it entirely counts, but idk. It was all I could think of for this theme, and it sort of ties into my plans for tomorrow (which will be another video, should all go to plan). Can also be found on ao3 and tumblr.

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Peace of Mind

"Mommy? Are you ok?"

Chi-Chi paused in chopping the vegetables for lunch and sucked in a deep breath at the sound of Goten's voice. She let a few seconds tick by before letting the breath out and forcing a sweet smile onto her face. She then turned to face her youngest, who stood in the doorway of the kitchen with a look of concern on his young face. A small frown, his brow furrowed, so much like – _stop it!_

Chi-Chi quickly put the knife down on the counter and walked over to where Goten stood. "Of course, I'm ok!" she reassured in what she hoped was a convincing happy tone. His face remained unchanged. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Goten looked down at his feet. "Earlier, when I–"

"Goten!" she cut it, perhaps too sharply for he jumped back a bit. Chi-Chi forced on a brighter smile and gently placed a comforting hand on his head. "No, sweetie, I'm not still upset over that. It wasn't your fault." And it _wasn't_ , he had no control over who his father is and the power he had inherited. He was also not to blame for just how similar he looked to his father either, especially when – "Just don't make a habit of transforming like that, ok?"

Goten nodded, though he still looked uncertain as he mumbled a small, "Yes ma'am."

Chi-Chi sighed and resisted the urge to shake her head. "Lunch still has some ways to go before it's done. Why don't you go outside and play for a while?" Goten's face instantly brightened, as the time between training and lunch was typically dedicated to studying. He gave her a tight hug and rushed out the door, laughing as he ran out to the woods. She smiled, the first real one since their training ended, and closed the front door before moving back towards the counter.

Her smile faded once she turned back to cutting the vegetables, images of her youngest son with yellow hair and teal eyes refusing to leave her mind. Goten can turn into a super saiyan... how? He's so...so _young!_ Was Trunks also able to transform? Would this mean that they'll have to fight like Gohan had to all those years ago?

 _No!_

Chi-Chi let out a small yelp as the knife nicked her finger. She quickly moved to the sink and ran the injury under some water, silently cursing at herself all the while. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. _This is ridiculous! Things have been peaceful for years now!_ Neither of her sons would have to fight for their lives anytime soon, or ever again if she was optimistic (which she was truly trying so hard to be).

But her mind refused to focus on anything else. Even as she set out cleaning and bandaging the cut, Chi-Chi's attention was still drawn to the memory of Goten's sudden transformation. Both her sons have always held a strong resemblance to their father, her youngest especially, but in that moment...with the determined glare in his eyes...

Goten looked so much like Goku had that week leading up to the Cell Games, to his...well, to his death.

She had always hated the super saiyan transformation. It made her family look like delinquents, which never settled well with her. It also only ever appeared around the time something _awful_ had befallen her family. Goku was stuck in space for a year thanks to that form; Gohan was forced to grow up even more before his time in order to face off against Cell.

Goku _died_.

Seeing her son, her precious little Goten, like that nearly broke her. Haven't they suffered enough? Couldn't her children grow up in peace?

"Now stop that," she muttered to herself as she examined the now bandaged finger. "You're getting worked up over nothing."

Seven years. It has been seven years since the last catastrophe had struck. The longest stretch of peace that they've had ever, even longer than her first few years married to Goku. Her husband has refused to be revived to ensure that they kept this peace! There was no reason for it to suddenly crumble away, super saiyans or not.

Although she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that Goku had chosen to come back. Raising two boys on her own was no easy task, but training a tiny super saiyan? Some help from him would certainly have been appreciated. It would thrill Goten to no end, too, especially when he learns Goku could also transform – any connection to his father brought the boy so much joy...

Goku was dead, though. There was no changing that.

Goten's a super saiyan. There was no changing that.

There was no world ending threats looming over them. _That_ could easily change at any moment. But it would be foolish to dwell on it and cause unnecessary stress to herself and her children.

"It's fine." Chi-Chi grabbed the knife and began to chop the vegetables yet again. "Everything will be fine."

She pointedly ignored the painful twisting in her gut.


End file.
